Illustrated videos, the ones where people draw along on fast forward to a lengthy voice over, are becoming increasingly popular. I first encountered them through the RSA a few years ago and still think they are the best execution of the idea that I’ve seen. Here are three great videos that should give you some inspirational ideas on how to grow your creative business and negotiate better deals!

The Science of Persuasion

What astounded me the most in this excellent look into the secrets of the Science of Persuasion was the huge returns that simply giving a mint made on the size of the tip. The key to the idea of reciprocity is to ‘be the first to give in a personalised and unexpected way’. A good example of this that I experienced myself was the free sweets that came in my order from Jigsaw24, when I ordered a harddrive from them. It was such an enjoyable surprise (though tiny expense for them) that I tweeted about it. What would can you to surprise and delight your clients so much that they would keep coming back to you for more, or refer you to their friends?

The Power of Networks

The entire collection of RSAnimate videos represent a wealth of interesting information and this talk on the Power of Networks from Manuel Lima senior UX design lead at Microsoft Bing is no exception. If after you watch this video you’re wondering: What does this have to do with growing my business? Then, I would ask – do you know what your network looks like? Do you know who your best clients or customers are? Do you know which ones give you the most work or the most valuable work? Do you know which ones call you most frequently?

Mapping out your network or creating a database of your clients not only makes it easier to pick up the phone and call your best ones in downtime, but also helps to show you who your best connectors are and where growth opportunities might lie. It also lets you see who might benefit from an introduction to someone else you know.

Design Like Apple

One Minute MBA has a growing collection of these short illustrated videos which are all worth a browse. This 2 minute video is packed with insights into the design philosophy that Apple uses when creating their category defining products. The point that struck me most was:

Rule #2 – Every employee in a company must truly understand what the product they’re building is, how it works, and how it will benefit customers or society in order to get the design just right.

I think so often we focus on the first two parts of this that we neglect the third. Often with creative work we can be focusing on whether our part looks good (the design, the photography, the video, the music etc) and is working well (we’ve done a professional job) but fall short on adapting what we’re doing to ensure it benefits the client.

I often hear directors grousing about having to ‘make it worse to make the client happier’, but the truth is if adding a line or a shot about a particular feature of the client’s product is what they feel will serve them best, then delivering that is the best way you can serve them. It’s crucial to keep asking yourself through the creative process if your end product is really going to best serve your clients needs.